Onga Hammerhead Pool Cleaner Review - #1 In Australia?

Onga Hammerhead Pool Cleaner Review - #1 In Australia?

The Onga Hammerhead is an affordable, suction-side powered pool cleaner that has been rated among the best suction pool cleaners on some consumer review websites.

Despite this high rating and affordable price point, you may be wondering: does this cleaner really live up to the hype?

In this Onga Hammerhead review, we will cover some pros and cons of this model as well as discuss details about the design, cleaning performance, build quality, and warranty service for this cleaner to see how it measures up to similar models.

Pros & Cons

Design

The Onga Hammerhead is a suction-side powered pool cleaner that is designed for pools of all sizes. When purchased without any add-ons, this cleaner comes with 10 metres of hose, so you will need to purchase additional lengths if you have a longer pool than this.

This cleaner is designed for both inground and above ground pools, and is compatible with most pool surfaces including concrete, pebblecrete, quartzon, fibreglass, vinyl liners, glass beads, and tiled pools.

Overall, this cleaner is compatible with more pool types than other comparable models.

This cleaner has a round brush head that stirs up debris in order to allow the suction to pick it up. This machine is capable of climbing walls, yet has mixed reviews regarding its ability to clean the steps, ledges, and corners of your pool.

Cleaning Performance

Consumer reviews of the Onga Hammerhead are varied, however, most users who are able to get their machine set up properly report that the cleaning performance of this suction cleaner is high quality.

This cleaner picks up most sizes of debris, from fine dust to larger debris such as tree-borne nuts and sticks.

Users who are satisfied with the set-up process for this machine also commend it for its ‘set-and-forget’ ability. Once this cleaner is hooked up to your pool pump, it operates on its own without extra assistance needed, making it very convenient.

Power Specifications

Because the Onga Hammerhead is a suction-side powered pool cleaner, it relies on the suction provided by your pool’s existing pump system in order to operate.

This means that the cleaner itself doesn’t use any power, but your pump will be chewing through electricity to keep the cleaner running.

Build Quality & Warranty

Onga Hammerhead Problems

There are several issues with the build quality of the Onga Hammerhead. Several reviews mention that it is difficult to get this machine to sit flat on the floor of the pool, despite spending hours attempting to set the cleaner up according to the instruction manual provided.

Even once the machine is installed, many users mention having to make frequent adjustments to the cleaner so that it stays flat on the pool’s surfaces.

Certain parts of the machine are easily broken, such as the floaters present in sections of the machine’s hosing.

Even worse, these floaters are not available for purchase as individual replacement parts; instead, Pentair service representatives recommend that you replace the entire portion of the machine that is affected, which can cost almost half of the original price of the machine.

Some users have been able to D.I.Y. a fix to this issue by using other inflatable balls, such as ping pong balls.

Another widely reported problem with this machine is that it does not cover the whole pool. Due to the fairly light weight of the cleaner, it tends to get pushed around by any jets that may be present in your pool.

For many pool owners, this leads to the machine getting stuck near the skimmer basket.

Onga Hammerhead Warranty

The Onga Hammerhead has a three year warranty, which is one year longer than average. Unfortunately, the coverage of this warranty and the customer service provided by Pentair/Onga tends to be subpar.

For example, wear and tear of the machine that is not due to a manufacturer defect is not covered. This includes rips or tears in the round wheel of the machine that sits against the floor of the pool, regardless of the age of your product.

Additionally, there are many reports that Pentair customer service is reluctant to respond productively to warranty claims, often even asking customers to ‘prove’ that their water chemistry was adequately maintained in order to avoid taking accountability for damaged parts.

There are multiple reports of this happening, and it is very disappointing that the company goes to such lengths to avoid responsibility for their products.

As mentioned above, there is also not a wide-array of replacement parts available for this machine.

In cases where small parts get damaged, you may not be able to find replacements unless you are willing to replace the entire component of the machine where the damage is located. This is not cost-effective, and is inconvenient for users.

Onga Hammerhead Price

The Onga Hammerhead is very affordable at approximately $350. This is significantly cheaper than other comparable cleaners, which in many cases makes it a good choice for investment, despite the problems that some users experience with their machine.

Onga Hammerhead - FAQ

What’s The Difference Between The Onga Hammerhead And Onga Bullshark?

The Onga Bullshark is the new and improved version of the Onga Hammerhead.

According to the manufacturer, the Onga Bullshark improves upon the build quality problems of the Onga Hammerhead, and also extends the warranty coverage slightly to include a lifetime warranty for the rotating parts of the machine.

It is not clear whether or not this new warranty contains the same caveats regarding pool chemistry.

How Do Hammerhead Pool Cleaners Work?

The Onga Hammerhead works by attaching to the suction-side water inlet of your pool’s pump.

This suction powers the machine, allowing it to move around the pool and capture debris without requiring its own power source.

The rotating flapper on the bottom of the cleaner moves the cleaner around the pool while stirring up and capturing debris.

Final Thoughts - Onga Hammerhead Review

The Onga Hammerhead is a decent pool cleaner for the price, but user reviews of this product are widely inconsistent.

There are too many similar, negative reviews regarding the setup, performance, and customer service provided in order for us to recommend it strongly.

If you happen to receive a model that works well, then this cleaner is an amazing product for the price. Unfortunately, many users struggle getting their cleaner set up properly in the first place.

Because of this, we only recommend purchasing this cleaner if the retailer that you purchase it from will allow returns and refunds if you experience problems.

Price Comparison - Onga Hammerhead

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